Old Oct 10, 2013, 11:39 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: JDiver
NOTE: The nine low MTOW Pratt & Whitney PW4168 engine equipped Airbus Industrie A330-300s had been scheduled for retirement (returned to lessor at end of lease) by late 2018 2021 now due to poor "fit" in the AA fleet (link). (The A330-200s, with more compatible Rolls Royce Trent 700 engines, will continue, however.)

Premium Economy and extended Main Cabin Extra are not expected to be installed on the A330-300, at this time. Its unpredictable if they might be refutted with the extended retirement dates.

Link to Combined AA Fleet page

For the specific thread about the Zodiac Envoy Business seat, please see LUS A330 "Envoy" Lie Flat All Aisle Access Business Seats (master thread)

Also see the older, archived thread on Envoy seating on the A330:
A330-200 Envoy Suites

Link to Seatguru for AA A330-300

Envoy / Business:
* Rows 1 to 7, 4 across, private "suites"
* Seats A and H have windows and aisle access, angle out toward windows
* Seats C and F are both in the middle, angle in toward center (no windows)
* In seat entertainment with personally selectable programming
* Empower 110 VAC / 150 VA and USB power

Economy:
* Rows 8 through 40
* Configured in a 2-4-2 pattern (A and H are windows with B/G beside them)
* Exits at row 25
* In seat entertainment with personally selectable programming
* Empower 110 VAC / 150 VA

New Livery (AA-style) of the A330-300:
A333 in New Livery

Link to archived older posts (back to 2011) from this thread.

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AA Airbus A330-300 / 333 [master thread]

Old Jul 15, 2018, 8:21 pm
  #106  
 
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I for one hope they don't add premium economy to this bird or MCE. I had the pleasure of flying one of these for the first time in regular coach seat 9J, and I was blown away by the comfort and generous pitch of at least 32". The friendly and attentive CLT based crew didn't hurt, either.

Based upon my observation, when AA goes in and adds either MCE or PE, they take pitch away from regular coach. It's like the plan is not to offer an improved product over the existing coach, but to worsen the existing coach product so people will pay to avoid it.
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Old Jul 16, 2018, 12:28 am
  #107  
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Originally Posted by wlp07
I for one hope they don't add premium economy to this bird or MCE. I had the pleasure of flying one of these for the first time in regular coach seat 9J, and I was blown away by the comfort and generous pitch of at least 32". The friendly and attentive CLT based crew didn't hurt, either.

Based upon my observation, when AA goes in and adds either MCE or PE, they take pitch away from regular coach. It's like the plan is not to offer an improved product over the existing coach, but to worsen the existing coach product so people will pay to avoid it.
Is that what they did with the 332s? They removed one row of coach seats for the three rows of PE. And I think the leftover pitch was used to create the MCE seats. I don't think they touched anything between doors 3 L/R and doors 4 L/R. Does anyone have the answer to this?
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Old Jul 16, 2018, 4:45 am
  #108  
 
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I can't speak to the 332's, but I do know AA has recently deemed 30" as appropriate pitch for mainline and rj domestic operations. I used to be reasonably comfortable on their crj700 and E175 in regular coach. When AA sent these off to have more mce added, the result was 30" pitch in regular coach. AA is similarly retrofitting their 738 fleet this way, to match the abysmal 737-8 max config. No bueno for regular coach flyers lacking status.
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Old Jul 16, 2018, 8:41 am
  #109  
 
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Originally Posted by Fanjet
Is that what they did with the 332s? They removed one row of coach seats for the three rows of PE. And I think the leftover pitch was used to create the MCE seats. I don't think they touched anything between doors 3 L/R and doors 4 L/R. Does anyone have the answer to this?
The A332 is weird because the front section of Y has MCE only on the G/H side since the lav is smaller, and they were able to space out the seats. However, the seat map also shows a few added rows of MCE in the back section of Y (rows 23-26) that didnt used to be there before PE was added. So they must have reduced pitch in order to make this work.

With the A333s staying in the fleet longer, Im surprised they arent adding PE or at least a dedicated MCE section, but maybe its just not worth it at this point. So we can enjoy regular Y on that plane being the same comfort as MCE on newer planes.
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Old Jul 16, 2018, 12:10 pm
  #110  
 
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I doubt they add it. The overhead to do doesn’t seem like it would be worth the trouble in the end. Plus they could end up walking their anticipated retirement date back, which would make it even more difficult to justify the expense.

And it’s not as simple as, “add 28 PE seats and get $1800 a pop.” Those seats take up space, and that space has to come from somewhere. So if the space came from Y, and PE was a 50% premium over Y, those profits shrink. Further, there would be fewer PE seats than the number of Y seats which were replaced, thus an even slimmer margin.

So whether or not it would sell well is not relevant. The amount of money to be made over the cost to do make the change is the key. And even without knowing numbers and only knowing a 3 year (or less) operational period, then it really doesn’t seem like it would justify the cost.
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Old Jul 16, 2018, 11:30 pm
  #111  
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Originally Posted by thunderlounge
I doubt they add it. The overhead to do doesn’t seem like it would be worth the trouble in the end. Plus they could end up walking their anticipated retirement date back, which would make it even more difficult to justify the expense.

And it’s not as simple as, “add 28 PE seats and get $1800 a pop.” Those seats take up space, and that space has to come from somewhere. So if the space came from Y, and PE was a 50% premium over Y, those profits shrink. Further, there would be fewer PE seats than the number of Y seats which were replaced, thus an even slimmer margin.

So whether or not it would sell well is not relevant. The amount of money to be made over the cost to do make the change is the key. And even without knowing numbers and only knowing a 3 year (or less) operational period, then it really doesn’t seem like it would justify the cost.
In the case of the 332s, in order to create the 21 PE seats, they did so at the net expense of 11 coach seats. The 333s are running some of the longer TATL routes like ATH and FCO, in addition to LHR, where the demand for PE should be higher than other routes. And if they are running Y load factors at 95% or less on those flights, then it makes very little or no impact on the sale of Y tickets. Now, the PE cabin on the 332s is 2-3-2 across, just like the 789s (and would be the same on the 788s). But I'm not sure if they are the exact same seats. Or maybe just the 2-seat clusters are. Which means they could be removed from the 333s when they are retired and installed on the yet-to-be-delivered 788s and 789s. Making the capital expenditure on PE seats for these 9 333s less costly.
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Old Jul 17, 2018, 8:33 am
  #112  
 
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Question A330 Usually boards via L2?

I am taking the A330 PHL-ATH this fall in business and am trying to choose a seat with a quick exit on arrival. Does this plane usually use the L1 door or the L2 door to load/unload? Would sitting in the front of the cabin or the rear give me the quickest exit?
Thanks in advance for replies!.

Last edited by MSPpete; Jul 17, 2018 at 8:46 am
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Old Jul 17, 2018, 9:34 am
  #113  
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Originally Posted by MSPpete
I am taking the A330 PHL-ATH this fall in business and am trying to choose a seat with a quick exit on arrival. Does this plane usually use the L1 door or the L2 door to load/unload? Would sitting in the front of the cabin or the rear give me the quickest exit?
Thanks in advance for replies!.
Can't guarantee whether door 1L or 2L will be used. that's dependent on airport, gate, etc. So I'd say get something mid-cabin left side (or center if you want to be next to a traveling companion). If they use door 2L, they usually let the business cabin off first.
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Old Aug 6, 2018, 9:14 am
  #114  
 
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Airbus 330-300 PHL LHR

I'm going to try to book FF coach miles for two tickets PHL to LHR for the end of July 2019 as soon as my travel date becomes available. The latest which now appears is July 1st. I've done a couple of dummy bookings on the latest flights now available for booking and they show MCE bulkhead seats 8 G and H, on a 330-300.
I've seen the comments on the 330-200 which suggest that the bulkhead seats on that plane start in Row 9 and are good seats with decent legroom.
Any advice/experience about these seats (or other recommended MCE seats) on the 330-300?

Thanks!
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Old Aug 6, 2018, 9:47 am
  #115  
 
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330 row 9

Originally Posted by AudenHoggart
...Any advice/experience about these seats (or other recommended MCE seats) on the 330-300?Thanks!
Here's the 330-300 thread:
AA Airbus A330-300 / 333 [master thread]

(eta: I don't believe the 300's are getting PE so 8 would in fact be the bulkhead. I personally like 8G & H)

Last edited by alien; Aug 6, 2018 at 9:59 am
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Old Aug 6, 2018, 9:10 pm
  #116  
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Anyone have an idea how much legroom is in the center part of row 25 (CDEF) versus the standard coach seats?
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Old Aug 10, 2018, 9:35 am
  #117  
 
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Originally Posted by PHL
Anyone have an idea how much legroom is in the center part of row 25 (CDEF) versus the standard coach seats?
I'm actually wondering the same thing. It is also right across from the lavatories, however, with extra legroom, it may be an ideal spot for a family of 4. Anyone have any experience?
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Old Aug 14, 2018, 1:06 pm
  #118  
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I'm in 25D on a LHR-PHL flight coming up soon. The other few MCE seats on this plane (A333) have not cleared up by people changing, upgrading, etc. so it's either I take this one, which I've paid for, or an aisle seat on either side of the plane. I'm also wondering how they'll treat the MCE alcohol benefit.
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Old Oct 12, 2018, 12:13 pm
  #119  
 
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Originally Posted by PHL
I'm in 25D on a LHR-PHL flight coming up soon. The other few MCE seats on this plane (A333) have not cleared up by people changing, upgrading, etc. so it's either I take this one, which I've paid for, or an aisle seat on either side of the plane. I'm also wondering how they'll treat the MCE alcohol benefit.
@PHL .. how was your flight in MCE? Im curious to know because I have decided to dive into row 8F. First time flying with AA A333. Anyone know if there are pictures of row 8 ?
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Old Oct 14, 2018, 12:01 pm
  #120  
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25D was fine, though an aisle or window would have been more desirable. On long haul flights, the 4 seats on each side of row 25 (A/B/G/H) are blocked off for crew rest. Row 8 looked to be similar in terms of legroom.
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